• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.33-62
• /
• 2009

Internet computing is a disruptive IT innovation. Semantic Web can be considered as an IT innovation because the Semantic Web technology possesses the potential to reduce information overload and enable semantic integration, using capabilities such as semantics and machine-processability. How should organizations adopt the Semantic Web? What factors affect the adoption and diffusion of Semantic Web innovation? Most studies on adoption and diffusion of innovation use empirical analysis as a quantitative research methodology in the post-implementation stage. There is criticism that the positivist requiring theoretical rigor can sacrifice relevance to practice. Rapid advances in technology require studies relevant to practice. In particular, it is realistically impossible to conduct quantitative approach for factors affecting adoption of the Semantic Web because the Semantic Web is in its infancy. However, in an early stage of introduction of the Semantic Web, it is necessary to give a model and some guidelines and for adoption and diffusion of the technology innovation to practitioners and researchers. Thus, the purpose of this study is to present a model of adoption and diffusion of the Semantic Web and to offer propositions as guidelines for successful adoption through a qualitative research method including multiple case studies and in-depth interviews. The researcher conducted interviews with 15 people based on face-to face and 2 interviews by telephone and e-mail to collect data to saturate the categories. Nine interviews including 2 telephone interviews were from nine user organizations adopting the technology innovation and the others were from three supply organizations. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The interviews were recorded on digital voice recorder memory and subsequently transcribed verbatim. 196 pages of transcripts were obtained from about 12 hours interviews. Triangulation of evidence was achieved by examining each organization website and various documents, such as brochures and white papers. The researcher read the transcripts several times and underlined core words, phrases, or sentences. Then, data analysis used the procedure of open coding, in which the researcher forms initial categories of information about the phenomenon being studied by segmenting information. QSR NVivo version 8.0 was used to categorize sentences including similar concepts. 47 categories derived from interview data were grouped into 21 categories from which six factors were named. Five factors affecting adoption of the Semantic Web were identified. The first factor is demand pull including requirements for improving search and integration services of the existing systems and for creating new services. Second, environmental conduciveness, reference models, uncertainty, technology maturity, potential business value, government sponsorship programs, promising prospects for technology demand, complexity and trialability affect the adoption of the Semantic Web from the perspective of technology push. Third, absorptive capacity is an important role of the adoption. Fourth, suppler's competence includes communication with and training for users, and absorptive capacity of supply organization. Fifth, over-expectance which results in the gap between user's expectation level and perceived benefits has a negative impact on the adoption of the Semantic Web. Finally, the factor including critical mass of ontology, budget. visible effects is identified as a determinant affecting routinization and infusion. The researcher suggested a model of adoption and diffusion of the Semantic Web, representing relationships between six factors and adoption/diffusion as dependent variables. Six propositions are derived from the adoption/diffusion model to offer some guidelines to practitioners and a research model to further studies. Proposition 1 : Demand pull has an influence on the adoption of the Semantic Web. Proposition 1-1 : The stronger the degree of requirements for improving existing services, the more successfully the Semantic Web is adopted. Proposition 1-2 : The stronger the degree of requirements for new services, the more successfully the Semantic Web is adopted. Proposition 2 : Technology push has an influence on the adoption of the Semantic Web. Proposition 2-1 : From the perceptive of user organizations, the technology push forces such as environmental conduciveness, reference models, potential business value, and government sponsorship programs have a positive impact on the adoption of the Semantic Web while uncertainty and lower technology maturity have a negative impact on its adoption. Proposition 2-2 : From the perceptive of suppliers, the technology push forces such as environmental conduciveness, reference models, potential business value, government sponsorship programs, and promising prospects for technology demand have a positive impact on the adoption of the Semantic Web while uncertainty, lower technology maturity, complexity and lower trialability have a negative impact on its adoption. Proposition 3 : The absorptive capacities such as organizational formal support systems, officer's or manager's competency analyzing technology characteristics, their passion or willingness, and top management support are positively associated with successful adoption of the Semantic Web innovation from the perceptive of user organizations. Proposition 4 : Supplier's competence has a positive impact on the absorptive capacities of user organizations and technology push forces. Proposition 5 : The greater the gap of expectation between users and suppliers, the later the Semantic Web is adopted. Proposition 6 : The post-adoption activities such as budget allocation, reaching critical mass, and sharing ontology to offer sustainable services are positively associated with successful routinization and infusion of the Semantic Web innovation from the perceptive of user organizations.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.57-81
• /
• 2008

Knowledge is an essential strategic weapon for sustaining competitive advantage and is the key determinant for organizational growth. When knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout the organization, it increases an organization's value by providing the ability to respond to new and unusual situations. The growing importance of knowledge as a critical resource has forced executives to pay attention to their organizational knowledge. Organizations are increasingly undertaking knowledge management initiatives and making significant investments. Knowledge sourcing is considered as the first important step in effective knowledge management. Most firms continue to make an effort to realize the benefits of knowledge management by using various knowledge sources effectively. Appropriate knowledge sourcing strategies enable organizations to create, acquire, and access knowledge in a timely manner by reducing search and transfer costs, which result in better firm performance. In response, the knowledge management literature has devoted substantial attention to the analysis of knowledge sourcing strategies. Many studies have categorized knowledge sourcing strategies into intemal- and external-oriented. Internal-oriented sourcing strategy attempts to increase firm performance by integrating knowledge within the boundary of the firm. On the contrary, external-oriented strategy attempts to bring knowledge in from outside sources via either acquisition or imitation, and then to transfer that knowledge across to the organization. However, the extant literature on knowledge sourcing strategies focuses primarily on large organizations. Although many studies have clearly highlighted major differences between large and small firms and the need to adopt different strategies for different firm sizes, scant attention has been given to analyzing how knowledge sourcing strategies affect firm performance in small firms and what are the differences between small and large firms in the patterns of knowledge sourcing strategies adoption. This study attempts to advance the current literature by examining the impact of knowledge sourcing strategies on small firm performance from a holistic perspective. By drawing on knowledge based theory from organization science and complementarity theory from the economics literature, this paper is motivated by the following questions: (1) what are the adoption patterns of different knowledge sourcing strategies in small firms (i,e., what sourcing strategies should be adopted and which sourcing strategies work well together in small firms)?; and (2) what are the performance implications of these adoption patterns? In order to answer the questions, this study developed three hypotheses. First hypothesis based on knowledge based theory is that internal-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. Second hypothesis developed on the basis of knowledge based theory is that external-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. The third one based on complementarity theory is that pursuing both internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing simultaneously is negatively or less positively associated with small firm performance. As a sampling frame, 700 firms were identified from the Annual Corporation Report in Korea. Survey questionnaires were mailed to owners or executives who were most erudite about the firm s knowledge sourcing strategies and performance. A total of 188 companies replied, yielding a response rate of 26.8%. Due to incomplete data, 12 responses were eliminated, leaving 176 responses for the final analysis. Since all independent variables were measured using continuous variables, supermodularity function was used to test the hypotheses based on the cross partial derivative of payoff function. The results indicated no significant impact of internal-oriented sourcing strategies while positive impact of external-oriented sourcing strategy on small firm performance. This intriguing result could be explained on the basis of various resource and capital constraints of small firms. Small firms typically have restricted financial and human resources. They do not have enough assets to always develop knowledge internally. Another possible explanation is competency traps or core rigidities. Building up a knowledge base based on internal knowledge creates core competences, but at the same time, excessive internal focused knowledge exploration leads to behaviors blind to other knowledge. Interestingly, this study found that Internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing strategies had a substitutive relationship, which was inconsistent with previous studies that suggested complementary relationship between them. This result might be explained using organizational identification theory. Internal organizational members may perceive external knowledge as a threat, and tend to ignore knowledge from external sources because they prefer to maintain their own knowledge, legitimacy, and homogeneous attitudes. Therefore, integrating knowledge from internal and external sources might not be effective, resulting in failure of improvements of firm performance. Another possible explanation is small firms resource and capital constraints and lack of management expertise and absorptive capacity. Although the integration of different knowledge sources is critical, high levels of knowledge sourcing in many areas are quite expensive and so are often unrealistic for small enterprises. This study provides several implications for research as well as practice. First this study extends the existing knowledge by examining the substitutability (and complementarity) of knowledge sourcing strategies. Most prior studies have tended to investigate the independent effects of these strategies on performance without considering their combined impacts. Furthermore, this study tests complementarity based on the productivity approach that has been considered as a definitive test method for complementarity. Second, this study sheds new light on knowledge management research by identifying the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and small firm performance. Most current literature has insisted complementary relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies on the basis of data from large firms. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study identifies substitutive relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies using data from small firms. Third, implications for practice highlight that managers of small firms should focus on knowledge sourcing from external-oriented strategies. Moreover, adoption of both sourcing strategies simultaneousiy impedes small firm performance.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.205-210
• /
• 2006

Purpose: FDG uptake on positron omission tomography (PET) has been considered a prognostic indicator in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to assess the clinical significance of maximum value of SUV (maxSUV) in recurrence prediction in patients with surgically resected NSCLC. Materials & methods: NSCLC patients (n=42, F:M =14:28, age $62.3{\pm}12.3$ y) who underwent curative resection after FDG-PET were enrolled. Twenty-nine patients had pathologic stage 1, and 13 had pathologic stage II. Thirty-one patients were additionally treated with adjuvant oral chemotherapy. MaxSUVs of primary tumors were analyzed for correlation with tumor recurrence and compared with pathologic or clinical prognostic indicators. The median follow-up duration was 16 mo (range, 3-26 mo). Results: Ten (23.8%) of the 42 patients experienced recurrence during a median follow-up of 7.5 mo (range, 3-13 mo). Univariate analysis revealed that disease-free survival (DFS) was significantly correlated with maxSUV (<7 vs. $\geq7$, p=0.006), tumor size (<3 cm vs. $\geq3$ cm, p=0.024), and tumor tell differentiation (well/moderate vs. poor, p=0.044). However, multivariate Cox proportional analysis identified maxSUV as the single determinant for DFS (p=0.014). Patients with a maxSUV of $\geq7$(n=10) had a significantly lower 1-year DFS rate (50.0%) than those with a maxSUV of <7 (n=32, 87.5%). Conclusion: MaxSUV is a significant independent predictor for recurrence in surgically resected NSCLC. FDG uptake can be added to other well-known factors in prognosis prediction of NSCLC.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.53
• /
• pp.285-310
• /
• 2003

As National Pension Scheme for all nation complete in 1999 through expanding application in cities, the public pension including Public Occupational Pension became main axis of old-age income maintenance. After 4years since then, now, it is only half of total National Pension insured persons who have been qualified to receive pension through participate and contribution. The other half of National Pension insured is left the excluded from public pension. This paper is intended to identify scale and characteristics of the excluded from public pension and to analysis its cause, and to explore policy measures for solving the excluded's problem. for current recipients over 60 years old generation, the its excluded's scale is no less than 86% of the old over 60 years. The probability of getting in the excluded is high in case of old elderly and female for current elderly generation. For future recipients 18-59 years working generation, the its excluded's scale is no less than 61% of the 18-59 years total population. The probability of getting in the excluded is high in case of 18-29 years and female for current working generation. As logistic regression analysis determinant factor of paying or not pension contribution for future recipients, it appear that probability of getting in the excluded for current working generation is high in case of younger old, lower education attainment, irregular employee, working at agriculture forestry fishery sector, construction sector, wholesale retail trade restaurants hotels sector, financial institution and insurance real estate renting and leasing sector in comparison with manufacturing sector, occpaying at elementary occupation, professionals technicians and associate professionals, sale and service workers, plant machine operators and assemblers, legislators senior officials and managers in comparison with clerks. The Policy measures for the current recipient old generation have need to reinforce supplemental role of Senior's pension(non-contribution pension) until maturing of public pension, because of no having chance of public pension participants for them. And the Policy measures for the future recipient working generation have need to restructure social security fundamentally corresponding with social-economic change as labour market and family structure etc. The pension system has need to change from one earner one pension to one citizen one pension with citizenship rights. At this point, public pension have need to manage with combining insurance's contribution principle and citizenship principle financing by taxes. Then public pension will become substantially universal social network for old-age income maintenance and we can find real solution for the excluded from.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.349-355
• /
• 2017

Skin tone plays a key role in one of the determinant for facial attractiveness. Most female customers have an interest in choosing skin color and improving their skin tone and their needs have been contributed the expansion of cosmetic products in the market. Recently, cosmetic customers, who want bright skin, are also interested in healthy and lively-looking skin. However, there is no method to evaluate the skin tone with the complexion-describing adjectives (CDAs). Therefore, this study was conducted to find the ways to objectify and digitize the CDA. We obtained that quasi $L^*$ at dark skin is 65 and quasi $L^*$ at bright skin is 74 for standard images, which are selected from our data base. To match the following seven CDAs: pale, clear, radiant, lively, healthy, rosy and dull, the colors of both images were adjusted by 30 panels. The quasi $L^*$, $a^*$ and $b^*$ were converted from the RGB values of the manipulated images. The differences between the quasi $L^*$, $a^*$ and $b^*$ values of standard images and manipulated images reflecting each CDA were statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, there were no statistical significances between the $L^*$ values of dark and bright skin images that were modified in accordance with each CDA and there also were no statistical significances between the quasi $a^*$ values of dark and bright skin for pale and clear CDAs. From the statistical analysis, the CDAs were observed to form three groups: (i) pale-clear-radiant, (ii) lively-healthy-rosy and (iii) dull. We recognized that people have a similar opinion about perception of CDAs. Following our results of this study, we establish new standard method for sensibility evaluation which is difficult to carry out scientifically or objectively.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
• /
• no.68
• /
• pp.509-538
• /
• 2017

After 20thcentury, digital game has placed very important aspect in modern culture and industries. Thus, digital game industries have utilized ancient stories for themes and ideas. This trial is not only spotted in industrial sectors but also in liberal arts. This paper has a purpose to look at factors that can convert components from classic novels into digital games. Especially, it will focus on how researchers of classical literature can affect in different industrial sectors. Current analysis shows that stories, fantasies, items of classic novel can essentially help to create new games. However, a game consists of just more than the previous stated components; it requires rules, outcome, conflicts and voluntary to make the games much more interesting. It is often misunderstood that plot and fantasies in games may be the most significant aspects but they are actually not. Classic novel can help to make the rule of the four standards in creating a fun game. Here are rules that Taewonji suggests. First, gamers need to save the bleak world from a turbulent age. Second, The will of the absolute has the ultimate power, so those who have achieved god's will can raise a new country. Thirdly, the sinocentrism and the outskirts of the country are not imperative but they are adjustable notions. The first and second aspects are commonly found in Samkukjiyeonui. Hence, the pattern is very familiar. The most significant rule is the third determinant since the idea purely came from Taewonji. The main character Im Seong from the story was the center of his home country, but he later becomes the outskirt or the barbarian of the new country. Therefore, the players should maintain the three rules when they are following the plot and using different items in the digital game world. The researchers of classic literature should find rules that are suitable for the game from the classic novels. This way, there is no need to discover a separate field for digital games out of classical literature.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.1-24
• /
• 2010

Typically, marketing literature on innovation diffusion has focused on the pre-adoption process and only a few studies explicitly examined consumers' post-adoption behavior of innovative mobile services. Besides, prior use diffusion research has considered the variables that determine the consumers' initial adoption in explaining the post adoption usage behavior. However, behavioral sciences and individual psychology suggest that social influences are a potentially important determinant of usage behavior as well. The purpose of this study is to investigate into the effects of network factor and brand identification as social influences on the consumers' use diffusion or continued usage intention of a mobile service. Network factor designates consumer perception of the usefulness of a network, which embraces the concept of network externality and that of critical mass. Brand identification captures distinct aspects of social influence on technology acceptance that is not captured by subjective norm in situations where the technology use is voluntary. Additionally, this study explores the effect of the use diffusion on the brand switching intention, a generally unexplored form of post-adoption behavior. There are only a few empirical studies in the literature addressing the issue of IT user switching. In this study, the use diffusion comprises of rate of use and variety of use. The research hypotheses are as follows; H1. Network factor will have a positive influence on the rate of use of mobile services. H2. Network factor will have a positive influence on variety of use of mobile services. H3. Network factor will have a positive influence on continued usage intention. H4. Brand identification will have a positive influence on the rate of use. H5. Brand identification will have a positive influence on variety of use. H6. Brand identification will have a positive influence on continued usage intention. H7. Rate of use of mobile services are positively related to continued usage intention. H8. Variety of Use of mobile services are positively related to continued usage intention. H9. Rate of use of mobile services are negatively related to brand switching intention. H10. Variety of Use of mobile services are negatively related to brand switching intention. With the assistance of a marketing service company, a total of 1023 questionnaires from an online survey were collected. The survey was conducted only on those who have received or given a mobile service called "Gifticon". Those who answered insincerely were excluded from the analysis, so we had 936 observations available for a further stage of data analysis. We used structural equation modeling and overall fit was good enough (CFI=0.933, TLI=0.903, RMSEA=0.081). The results show that network factor and brand identification significantly increase the rate of use. But only brand identification increases variety of use. Also, network factor, brand identification and the use diffusion are positively related to continued usage intention. But the hypotheses that the use diffusion are positively related to brand switching intention were rejected. This result implies that continued usage intention cannot guarantee reducing brand switching intention.

• Korean small business review
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.67-93
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of innovative small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs) listed on Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market of Korea Exchange. The innovative SMEs is defined as the firms with high level of R&D intensity which is measured by (R&D investment/total sales) ratio, according to Chauvin and Hirschey (1993). The R&D investment plays an important role as the innovative driver that can increase the future growth opportunity and profitability of the firms. Therefore, the R&D investment have large, positive, and consistent influences on the market value of the firm. In this point of view, we expect that the innovative SMEs can adjust dividend payment faster than the noninnovative SMEs, on the ground of their future growth opportunity and profitability. And also, we expect that the financial unconstrained firms can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, on the ground of their financing ability of investment funds through the market accessibility. Aivazian et al.(2006) exert that the financial unconstrained firms with the high accessibility to capital market can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms. We collect the sample firms among the total SMEs listed on Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market of Korea Exchange during the periods from January 1999 to December 2007 from the KIS Value Library database. The total number of firm-year observations of the total sample firms throughout the entire period is 5,544, the number of firm-year observations of the dividend firms is 2,919, and the number of firm-year observations of the non-dividend firms is 2,625. About 53%(or 2,919) of these total 5,544 observations involve firms that make a dividend payment. The dividend firms are divided into two groups according to the R&D intensity, such as the innovative SMEs with larger than median of R&D intensity and the noninnovative SMEs with smaller than median of R&D intensity. The number of firm-year observations of the innovative SMEs is 1,506, and the number of firm-year observations of the noninnovative SMEs is 1,413. Furthermore, the innovative SMEs are divided into two groups according to level of financial constraints, such as the financial unconstrained firms and the financial constrained firms. The number of firm-year observations of the former is 894, and the number of firm-year observations of the latter is 612. Although all available firm-year observations of the dividend firms are collected, deletions are made in the case of financial industries such as banks, securities company, insurance company, and other financial services company, because their capital structure and business style are widely different from the general manufacturing firms. The stock repurchase was involved in dividend payment because Grullon and Michaely (2002) examined the substitution hypothesis between dividends and stock repurchases. However, our data structure is an unbalanced panel data since there is no requirement that the firm-year observations data are all available for each firms during the entire periods from January 1999 to December 2007 from the KIS Value Library database. We firstly estimate the classic Lintner(1956) dividend adjustment model, where the decision to smooth dividend or to adopt a residual dividend policy depends on financial constraints measured by market accessibility. Lintner model indicates that firms maintain stable and long run target payout ratio, and that firms adjust partially the gap between current payout rato and target payout ratio each year. In the Lintner model, dependent variable is the current dividend per share(DPS_t), and independent variables are the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) and the current earnings per share(EPS_t). We hypothesized that firms adjust partially the gap between the current dividend per share(DPS_t) and the target payout ratio(Ω) each year, when the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) deviate from the target payout ratio(Ω). We secondly estimate the expansion model that extend the Lintner model by including the determinants suggested by the major theories of dividend, namely, residual dividend theory, dividend signaling theory, agency theory, catering theory, and transactions cost theory. In the expansion model, dependent variable is the current dividend per share(DPS_t), explanatory variables are the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) and the current earnings per share(EPS_t), and control variables are the current capital expenditure ratio(CEA_t), the current leverage ratio(LEV_t), the current operating return on assets(ROA_t), the current business risk(RISK_t), the current trading volume turnover ratio(TURN_t), and the current dividend premium(DPREM_t). In these control variables, CEA_t, LEV_t, and ROA_t are the determinants suggested by the residual dividend theory and the agency theory, ROA_t and RISK_t are the determinants suggested by the dividend signaling theory, TURN_t is the determinant suggested by the transactions cost theory, and DPREM_t is the determinant suggested by the catering theory. Furthermore, we thirdly estimate the Lintner model and the expansion model by using the panel data of the financial unconstrained firms and the financial constrained firms, that are divided into two groups according to level of financial constraints. We expect that the financial unconstrained firms can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, because the former can finance more easily the investment funds through the market accessibility than the latter. We analyzed descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and median to delete the outliers from the panel data, conducted one way analysis of variance to check up the industry-specfic effects, and conducted difference test of firms characteristic variables between innovative SMEs and noninnovative SMEs as well as difference test of firms characteristic variables between financial unconstrained firms and financial constrained firms. We also conducted the correlation analysis and the variance inflation factors analysis to detect any multicollinearity among the independent variables. Both of the correlation coefficients and the variance inflation factors are roughly low to the extent that may be ignored the multicollinearity among the independent variables. Furthermore, we estimate both of the Lintner model and the expansion model using the panel regression analysis. We firstly test the time-specific effects and the firm-specific effects may be involved in our panel data through the Lagrange multiplier test that was proposed by Breusch and Pagan(1980), and secondly conduct Hausman test to prove that fixed effect model is fitter with our panel data than the random effect model. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows. The determinants suggested by the major theories of dividend, namely, residual dividend theory, dividend signaling theory, agency theory, catering theory, and transactions cost theory explain significantly the dividend policy of the innovative SMEs. Lintner model indicates that firms maintain stable and long run target payout ratio, and that firms adjust partially the gap between the current payout ratio and the target payout ratio each year. In the core variables of Lintner model, the past dividend per share has more effects to dividend smoothing than the current earnings per share. These results suggest that the innovative SMEs maintain stable and long run dividend policy which sustains the past dividend per share level without corporate special reasons. The main results show that dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs is faster than that of the noninnovative SMEs. This means that the innovative SMEs with high level of R&D intensity can adjust dividend payment faster than the noninnovative SMEs, on the ground of their future growth opportunity and profitability. The other main results show that dividend adjustment speed of the financial unconstrained SMEs is faster than that of the financial constrained SMEs. This means that the financial unconstrained firms with high accessibility to capital market can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, on the ground of their financing ability of investment funds through the market accessibility. Futhermore, the other additional results show that dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs classified by the Small and Medium Business Administration is faster than that of the unclassified SMEs. They are linked with various financial policies and services such as credit guaranteed service, policy fund for SMEs, venture investment fund, insurance program, and so on. In conclusion, the past dividend per share and the current earnings per share suggested by the Lintner model explain mainly dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs, and also the financial constraints explain partially. Therefore, if managers can properly understand of the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of innovative SMEs, they can maintain stable and long run dividend policy of the innovative SMEs through dividend smoothing. These are encouraging results for Korea government, that is, the Small and Medium Business Administration as it has implemented many policies to commit to the innovative SMEs. This paper may have a few limitations because it may be only early study about the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of the innovative SMEs. Specifically, this paper may not adequately capture all of the subtle features of the innovative SMEs and the financial unconstrained SMEs. Therefore, we think that it is necessary to expand sample firms and control variables, and use more elaborate analysis methods in the future studies.

• Journal of Distribution Research
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.29-64
• /
• 2011

Overview of Research: Product availability is one of important competences of store to fulfill consumer needs. If stock-outs which means a product what consumer wants to buy is not available occurs, consumer will face decision-making uncertainty that leads to consumer's negative responses such as consumer dissatisfaction on store. Stockouts was much studied in the field of academia as well as practice in other countries. However, stock-outs has not been researched at all in Marketing and/or Distribution area in Korea. The main objectives of this study are to find out determinants of consumer responses such as Substitute, Delay, and Leave(SDL) when consumer encounters out-of-stock situation and then to examine the effects of these factors on consumer responses. Specifically, this study focuses on situational characteristics(e.g., purchase urgency and surprise), store characteristics (e.g., product assortment and store convenience), and consumer characteristics (e.g., brand loyalty and store loyalty). Then, this study empirically investigates relationships these factors with consumers behaviors such as product substitution, purchase delay, and store switching.